Ayurvedic Diet Basics: How to Eat for Better Health

In an Ayurveda Diet, nutrition does not have a concept of vitamins, minerals, calories, and nutrients as modern science does. It is always interesting to consider ‘nutrition’ from an Ayurvedic perspective. So, we had to consider other ways to navigate what is good to eat every day and what foods should be saved for special occasions. 

Ayurveda considers not just what is ‘nutritious’ but what is digestible and sustainable. The deeper qualities or Gunas of foods and ways of preparing foods determine how good they will be for long-term health. 

The tools that Ayurveda uses to distinguish between everyday foods and special treats are simpler than you might think. These guidelines are healthy for everybody, regardless of dosha or disorder. 

The Ayurvedic Diet: What You Can (And Can’t) Eat 

What is an Ayurvedic diet? Simply put, it’s a way of eating that aligns with your body’s natural rhythms and doshas, ensuring that every meal nourishes both body and mind. Below are the key principles to guide your food choices for balance and well-being.

1. Freshly cooked food; not leftover, frozen, canned, boxed, bottled, or stale food. 
2. Not raw or cold food. 
3. Prioritize what your ancestors ate and what grows in the region where you live. Indigenous cuisines harmonize energetically, nutritionally, and medicinally with the climate and conditions of the region. 
4. Pleasantly spiced food. 
5. Moist food (not too dry, including liquid and oil moisture). 

Listen to what your body says: If you feel bloated or heavy, uncomfortable, or sleepy after you eat, then something you ate was too heavy (or too much!) for your digestion. 

Building the Perfect Ayurveda Diet Plate

Foods that are mild and satisfying in taste are your staples, like grains, beans, and roots. The nourishing and nurturing qualities of these foods are inherent in foods due to the predominance of earth and water elements. 

These ‘staples’ should make up 2/3 of what you eat. The remaining 1/3 is up to you: veggies, meats, sauces, spices, treats, fruits, and dairy. 

Grains 

Rice and wheat are considered the best for long life. White rice is easier to digest than brown rice. Eat bread if your ancestors did; if it is freshly baked. Minimize highly refined flour products like pastries and pasta. Barley is great for weight loss. Other healthy choices include kamut, buckwheat, millet, teff, hominy, wild rice, and quinoa. 

Beans 

Split Yellow Mung beans are the easiest and fastest to cook and digest. All legumes will increase Vata (produce gas and dryness), especially chickpeas, which is why they are always cooked with lots of oil, garlic, or Asophatida/Hing. 

Try aduki, lentils of all sorts, fava, yellow and green split peas, black beans, black-eyed peas, or my favorite: refried beans. 

Vegetables 

Squash (summer and winter types) is the best! Sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, asparagus, cabbage, eggplant, and okra are also good choices. Try cooked radish, kohlrabi, or turnip. Foods that take longer to grow have a stabilizing quality. This is good if you want to age slowly. Consequently, green leafy vegetables are to be kept to a minimum if you want a long life and no parasites. 

Try some less common root veggies: yam, taro, lotus, yucca. Avoid tomatoes and potatoes (South American– but sweet potato is fine). Peas, beans, and brassicas can cause Vata aggravation (i.e. gas), so prepare with a little hing and ghee. Cook and spice all vegetables. 

Meat 

Goat and wild (or ranched) meats are best. Fish should be limited unless your ancestors ate a lot of it. Generally, keep flesh-eating to a minimum. Light meat broth is ideal for recovering from illnesses or when stressed and for vegetarians needing extra nourishment. 

Seasoning 

Spices augment digestion. They increase your absorption and assimilation of foods. Most spices are best sautéed or roasted to release their flavor and nutritional value rather than used raw. 

Try cumin, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, thyme and fennel, ginger (fresh or dried), hing, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, saffron, paprika, lemon zest…! 

If cooking with spices is new to you, try to limit yourself to three spices per dish. Here are a few combinations to begin with. 

1. Paprika, thyme, lemon zest 
2. Cumin, coriander, fennel 
3. Fenugreek, mustard seeds, coriander 
4. Fresh hot peppers, cilantro, lime juice 
5. Fresh basil, oregano, and black pepper

Ghee & Other Oils 

Ghee is the only oil that improves digestion. The others can be delicious and useful, but will be heating and heavy to digest (except butter, which is very heavy to digest and is cooling). The less refined, the better. Try sesame, coconut, olive, and peanut. If you are very physically active, animal fats will be good for you. 

Milk 

Cow or goat, unhomogenized, organic, un-ultra-pasteurized, and raw if you can get it. Always heat milk, and always drink it alone (drinking it with salt, sour taste, or fish constitutes a bad combination and will damage digestion). If you missed dinner time but are hungry, have a glass of warm milk with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. 

Sweeteners 

Generally, sweeteners should be kept to a minimum. Honey should be had daily (in modest doses and never heated).  Use sugars that are less refined, like jaggery, maple syrup, or Demerara. 

Fruits 

Fruits are good for between-meal snacks and eating alone. Try a baked apple! Pomegranates are excellent end-of-summer cleansers. Bananas are heavy, cold, and phlegmy, so avoid them if you have asthma, bronchitis, allergies, etc.  Dried fruit is good in small quantities. 

Liquids 

Never drink iced drinks, especially with meals; they will make you fat. A cup of water or tea with meals is good. Drink when you are thirsty, not when you are bored or tired. 

Snacks when hunger strikes 

Fresh local fruit, a cup of warm milk or chai, fresh bread with butter, a fresh-baked cookie or cracker, a handful of toasted nuts, dried fruit, and seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower). 

Foods To Avoid In Ayurveda Diet 

1. Raw foods, including juices. If your digestion is strong, a small glass of fresh juice is fine. 
2. Anything cold or iced. 
3. Tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, and sprouts are not great. 
4. Yogurt is nefarious (hot, clogging, mucous forming). 

5 Bad Food Combinations 

1. Milk with fruit 
2. Milk with fish 
3. Milk with anything with salt in it (Latte and croissant are out) 
4. Fruits should be eaten alone and not with other foods 
5. Fermented or aged foods; cheese, vinegar, alcohol, sauerkraut, chutney, pickles, miso, etc, should be eaten in small doses only. 

Leftovers 

This includes anything that was not recently cooked, packaged, and prepared foods, milk substitutes, energy bars, powdered mixes, bread (or anything) that has been frozen, canned, or preserved with chemicals.